Ideas | The Smart Set

Don’t Sing, Scarf, or Spit

John Capista — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:28:17 +0000

Culture, if we can still call it that, has taken a definite downward turn in the last couple of decades. Tee shirts with I HATE YOUR F—ING MASK (the F word spelled out) printed in large letters on the front. Texting at the dinner table. Parents using profanity to children. Being honked and tailgated while […]

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Cutting Up

A.D. Amorosi — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 11:30:00 +0000

“A friend, Brion Gysin, an American poet and painter, who has lived in Europe for thirty years, was, as far as I know, the first to create cut-ups. His cut-up poem, Minutes to Go, was broadcast by the BBC and later published in a pamphlet. I was in Paris in the summer of 1960; this […]

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Our Oscars, Ourselves

Alex Dabertin — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 12:30:00 +0000

In our second Oscars story republished from 2016, writer Alex Dabertin examines the red-carpet race for Best Actress. The cultural landscape was marked by a significant emphasis on issues of gender equality, diversity, and representation in Hollywood. 2015 brought the #MeToo movement and infused discussions surrounding the Oscars with a heightened sensitivity to issues of […]

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To Binge or Not to Binge: That Is the Question

Al Sturgeon — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 12:30:00 +0000

I specifically hoped not to be an old person that longed for the good old days, but, well, here’s the deal: I remember when binge was considered a bad word. Now, it is a weekend plan. And I’m not talking about those darn kids today; I’m talking about my weekend plan. Decades ago, the only […]

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Memoirs of an Ex-Pentecostal

Joseph Bassey — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:30:00 +0000

During the wee hours of New Year’s Eve, I was reading George Orwell’s Burmese Days and got to the third chapter where I came across an interesting conversation between two characters namely: Flory and the Doctor. In the course of the dialogue, Flory poses a profound question to the Doctor which stopped me in my […]

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A Travesty of Justice

Daniel A. Hill — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 12:30:00 +0000

Given the headlines, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the injudicious behavior of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. I know the man unusually well. In 2012, the editors of The Wall Street Journal’s law blog asked me to weigh in on the question of whether the Supremes would uphold or invalidate Obamacare. […]

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I have a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence. I’m leaving the tech industry.

Harshini Rajachander — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 20:37:55 +0000

After six months of searching-and-not-searching for management-level jobs in tech, I am done. I have done what society demanded of me. I have pursued what I thought needed to be pursued. I valiantly pushed on toward a goal that should have been mine but never was. I have given my time, my energy, and my […]

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The Obvious Solution

Dr. Ariana Brazier and Kelsey Smoot — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 18:35:41 +0000

Recently, a friend’s husband told me about a time when he booked a gig to appear in a national television commercial. Prudently, he made sure to get a fresh haircut and line up beforehand, predicting that whoever was working in hair and makeup on set would be ill-equipped to handle his thick 4c curl pattern. […]

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Central Asia in Film

Komron Ergashev — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:30:00 +0000

To the Ends of the Earth: A Unique Perspective Imagine a world in which the essence of a nation is defined by its portrayal on the silver screen. Now, what if said nation has no portrayal at all to go by? Uzbekistan has long suffered from cinematic anonymity. The vast sand dunes of the Kyzylkum […]

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It’s Your Choice

Alexis Clements — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 12:30:00 +0000

When I was studying philosophy in graduate school, a professor told us that the work of philosophy happens in conversation, that you have to try out your ideas with others, because in the effort it takes to articulate and re-articulate those ideas in the face of questions and challenges, your thoughts actually take shape and […]

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